Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comstock Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 price target on Comstock Resources in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $21.00.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CRK opened at $23.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.06 and a 200-day moving average of $21.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.40. Comstock Resources has a 52-week low of $14.65 and a 52-week high of $31.17.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $787.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.66 million. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Comstock Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 115.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comstock Resources news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $1,036,998.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 187,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,975,339.20. This trade represents a 20.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Comstock Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,632,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 344.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,853,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,296,000 after buying an additional 1,436,746 shares in the last quarter. Gemsstock Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth $19,186,000. Aventail Capital Group LP lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 149.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP now owns 1,143,721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,680,000 after buying an additional 686,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 1,752.8% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 600,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,902,000 after buying an additional 567,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on generating long-term value through the efficient development of unconventional resource plays and conventional prospects. Its activities encompass drilling, completion and production operations, as well as the marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

Comstock holds a core position in the Haynesville Shale of Northwest Louisiana, one of the most active natural gas plays in North America, and has built a complementary portfolio in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.